Pavillon Vendôme
The Pavillon de Vendôme, and the Pavillon de la Molle, and often only briefly mentioned Pavillon Vendôme, is the most important of the numerous baroque mansions in the French town of Aix -en- Provence. It was built in 1664 by order of Louis de Vendômes and redesigned by subsequent owners again and expanded. Used in the 19th century by an order of nuns, it was from 1906 owned by the Swiss art collector Henri Dobler, from which it came to the city of Aix -en- Provence after his death. Today the building houses a small museum in the Provencal furniture and portrait paintings from the 17th and 18th centuries can be seen.
The Pavillon de Vendôme is classified by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique since March 27, 1914. The garden of the house in 1953 registered in the French monument list.
History
In the 17th century the Duke Louis de Vendome fell in love with Lucrèce de Forbin - Solliès, but was below its level. King Louis XIV gave this compound is inappropriate, trying to prevent a possible marriage by letting appointed by Pope Alexander VII to the Cardinal Duke. This did the affection between Louis and Lucrèce could not be stopped, and the Duke then gave the castle Vendôme in order, the rooms of which he had such a way that his mistress Lucrèce could see him undetected on the piano nobile. The plans was supplied by a native of Paris architect Antoine Matisse, called La Rivière. To ensure the supply of the couple by the servants unobtrusively, letting installing Louis concealed doors and hidden passage mazes.
Just two years after completion of construction but died the Duke and his mistress. At that time, the interior decoration was still unfinished. Louis ' underage son Louis II Joseph inherited the building, and its guardian sold it to the Avocat général Jean -Baptiste Gautier, seigneur de la Molle. He graduated from the decoration work and let go in 1682 change the portal and the entrance fundamentally. From the open carriage hall was a closed vestibule with grand staircase. 1730 acquired a native of Aix -en- Provence painter Jean -Baptiste van Loo, the castle and let the Palais set up a second floor. He then taught in the building one of his workshop. He died there in December 1745.
In the second half of the 18th century the estate was owned by Barthélemy- Louis Reboul, who emigrated at the outbreak of the French Revolution. His property was then confiscated and sold. During the Restoration acquired Jean -Joseph -Pierre Guigou, Bishop of Angoulême, the castle and set it to the Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus available, from 1832 kept a girls' school there. 1906 was acquired by the Swiss Henri Dobler, the palace and had it restored with care. He also had the garden according to traditional plans of Louis Cundier from 1688 to restore and made him in 1936 to the public. The lost over the years previous interior replaced the art lover through a collection of valuable old furniture and objets d'art, which he amassed during his life. Dobler bequeathed the building including interiors of the city of Aix -en- Provence, with the order to open it as a museum for visitors. The museum operation is continued until today. In addition, the Pavillon de Vendôme is often used for official receptions of the city and since 1990 also for art exhibitions.
Description
Building
In the palace there is a baroque summer palace, which was built from 1664 to 1667 at the time the gates of the city. The three-storey building is covered with a flat roof. Its floors are separated by circumferential cornices. Originally, it had only two floors, which were completed by a slated mansard roof. This roof form was the time of construction so unusual that the establishment no indigenous craftsmen were engaged, but the owner had to leave for specially Slater come from Orléans. Another special feature was the open entrance hall for the entrance of carriages. It was remodeled in the 1680s to an enclosed vestibule. Besides today's portal, however, the outlines of the original, wide carriage passage can still be seen. Inside this simple staircase was replaced by a double- grand staircase with ornate wrought iron gate as a handrail and balustrade. The staircase also received a sumptuous decor stucco and plaster.
The garden facade of the house is inspired by the Italian Renaissance and shows the three classical orders of columns Doric, Ionic and Corinthian. Jean -Claude Rambot decorated the facade with two large atlases bearing the balcony in the central projection. The side of the balcony door flanked by two Ionic pilasters niches are let on the first floor, where formerly stood statues of gods. These were later replaced by two large stone vases. The entrance portal is decorated under the balcony with lush fruit garlands.
The interiors are furnished in the styles of Louis XIII and Louis- Quatorze. Can be found, among other works of the painter Jean -Baptiste van Loo on the walls.
Garden
The palace is surrounded by a 9000 square foot, symmetrically designed French garden, which is open to the public. The area formerly possessed four corner pavilions, of which only the two northern exist today. In one of them, a chapel was established during the 18th century.
The garden is crossed by two geometrically designed, straight paths, the intersection of which mark the center of the garden. It is accented by a round pool with fountain especially. By the way the terrain is divided into four area covered by lawns with narrow flower beds around the edges. The afferent path to the portal in the center axis of the building is of artificially trimmed box trees, so-called Topiaris lined. On the south side of the garden is a rose in front of the former orangery. At the eastern side - through an avenue of plane trees separated from the rest of the garden - a further lawn area, which adjoins an overgrown by climbing roses portico. The palace garden was in 1974 extended to this area.